Sources: NBA looking into new ways to prevent teams from tanking - ESPN

The NBA has begun to gather input from its owners and general managers on new ways to combat tanking in the aftermath of the gambling scandal that rocked the league at the start of the season, sources told ESPN.

At a board of governors meeting Friday, the league presented several ideas around potential modifications to rules regarding draft pick protections, the draft lottery and other possible approaches, according to multiple sources.

The league rolled out new policies Friday to combat insider information and performance manipulation in the wake of federal indictments of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former player Damon Jones. But the league is also increasing its focus on tanking, due to its tie to the injury reporting rules and how those were exploited by gamblers seeking inside information, according to the government indictments.

In recent years, multiple teams have either shut down players early or sat players for games to try to improve their draft positioning, often tied to a protected pick. Sources said multiple ideas were proposed as a brainstorming measure to combat tanking, including:

• Limiting pick protections to either top four or 14 and higher, which would eliminate the problematic mid-lottery protections.

• No longer allowing a team to draft in the top four two years in a row.

• Locking lottery positions after March 1.

These ideas, which came from the league and its high-ranking officials, would theoretically dissuade non-playoff teams from sitting their starters for games throughout the season and provide reason to continue to try to win games, particularly down the stretch of a campaign.

As multiple sources described, the attempts to find solutions to